Thursday, November 10, 2011

Trying Something New ...

I think I've officially lost my mind. I'm attempting to make myself a skirt!

I know, right? Since when do I make clothes? But one of the biggest lessons I brought home from the Sewing Summit was to try to break out of my comfort zone and make things other than quilts. Like bags, for instance. Or maybe even a skirt. (Because that has to be one of the easiest garments to make, right?)

Then I saw that Anna of Noodlehead had made herself the cutest little skirt, and that she was going to do it as a sew-along. Since patterns confuse the life out of me, what better chance for me to give that a try?

And here it is so far! It kinda sorta really looks like a skirt, right?

It has pockets and everything! I've only made it through the end of her Day 2 post, but so far, so good. I was concerned about the fact that the back of the skirt seemed to be at least 2" wider than the front—leave it to me, the quilter, to want everything to match up perfectly. But Anna assures me I should be okay.

And behold my French seam! What a useful technique this is for encasing raw edges, and so easy too. Even if the skirt doesn't turn out in the end, I'm glad to have learned this.

So no problems so far, knock on wood. Anna's directions and photos have made everything very clear. I don't think I would have gotten even this far if I were relying solely on the pattern! But then again, there is the dreaded zipper coming up ...

35 comments:

Zippers aren't as bad as you think they'll be...well, not usually. I'd rather do a zipper than a buttonhole any day! I love the fabric you chose and can't wait to see the finished skirt. Good for you!!

Yea for trying new things!! The skirt looks awesome so far! French seams are my favorite!! And don't worry - zippers aren't too bad! Just take your time! I agree with Kelly - buttonholes are the worst!! Have fun!

It is looking awesome!! Way to break out!! I have done french seams I think like once and thought they were awesome but now I don't remember how to do them. I will have to go check out the tutorial :) Thanks so much for linking up!!

that looks great, I sewed garments BEFORE quilting, but don't do much of that any more, I used to sew tons of cute dresses for my daughter. I do still occasionally make a new purse/bag or something... and portfolios and stuffed owls :-)

Good for you! That extra 2 inches - it is because your bum is bigger than your tummy. :)

Loving the pockets with top stitching. The summer before I went to college I made two skirts and two pairs of shorts with zippers. I had to put the zippers in at least twice for each of them. Augh! It gets better though. I'm going to blame it on being 17 and not being able to read directions. :)

The back has 2" more than the front because of your rump bump. It's all good. Personally I hate zippers, but the last dress I made my daughter the zipper was near perfect, now if only I could remember how I did it... My machine has an automatic button hole on it, so it is pretty fool proof. Your skirt looks great!

I commend you on trying something new, I was a constant sewer of clothing when I was 15 to 25! Then I stopped sewing, who knows why, and have been quilting for 10 years, still have way to much to learn!

I love french seams! so great! I have figured out that you can use quilted panels to make a tote bag if you use french seams to close the sides- and I would have never known to do that without learning to sew a few garments first! Good for you for branching out!

Looks great so far! I'm so behind on my blog reading, I haven't seen the sew along yet, but I'm going to have to make sure I don't miss it. I really like the fabric you're using & the fact that it has pockets!

Watch out...you could be starting on new passion! I started off sewing barbie clothes, then costumes for shows, THEN started quilting (I guess I'm just a late bloomer lol) and I still love love love making custom PJ's for Christmas gifts!! Learn PJ pants...cross over to the dark side with me.....MUH HAHAHAHA!!!

Great job on your skirt! I have a ton of clothes patterns for myself and baby girl and still haven't attempted any. Of course I have so many quilty projects I want to get to first... I am so addicted...

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